Only You
by zaetrope
Summary: "If I say I love you it's because I really do." — a very fluff NaLu oneshot.


**A/N:** Hello guys, long time no see! Well, this time I'm giving you a very fluff NaLu one-shot - I tried to leave the comedy aside because the subject is kinda serious but... I couldn't. Not when you have Gray, Gajeel and Natsu together.

I'm actually preparing something cute, but since I'm not ready to post my new NaLu story, I decided to post this one-shot. There should be another one on the way too, with another paring, but it should take a while.

Anyway, this has extremely NaLu fluff but I liked writing it. I think I forgot how to write romantic stories though - author's block are a pain meh. Ah, also, if there's any grammar mistakes please notify me so I can correct, okay?

So...

**Rated T** - Gajeel's fault.

Now enjoy.

At least I hope.

**edit:** cover by alina-chan at deviantart

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**Only You**

by **zaetrope**

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He regretted the day he decided to give love a try. This wasn't what he sought for; he was expecting something more… smooth and easy to handle. Not this discomfort on his chest. Not only was the ache on his chest hard to get rid of, but everything was painful. What was he thinking when he decided it was time to fall in love? Thinking about the person he fell in love with hurt so much it made his soul shrug. Wasn't it weird? How was that even possible? But it was. Because it was what he was feeling.

"This is dumb." He breathed and rolled on his bed.

Yes, everything started when he give in and let love enter his life. Natsu thought that perhaps being in love wasn't as bad as it seemed – looking at Bisca and Alzack wasn't so bad, because he knew they loved each other and Asuka, their daughter, was the fruit of their love. Looking at them, though, remembered him of various things: seeing Alzack assuming the position of a father made him remember of Igneel. Seeing them acting like father and daughter reminded him of him and Igneel. It was kind of nostalgic, and sometimes it made Natsu miss Igneel more than ever, but refreshing on its own way. Then, there was Lucy. She had caught him so many times looking at them that she asked _"why are you always looking at them?"_ and he had answered with a _"nothing special"_, hiding his real motives. He had never admitted it out loud, though, but seeing them like that made him wish for a family – like Bisca and Alzack had, with kids included, if possible.

The day he realized the meaning behind his wish, was when his life changed.

He asked Lucy if she wanted a family; not a family like they had at Fairy Tail, but a family where she would be married and have kids. Natsu noticed the crimson on her cheeks at the sudden question, but for more embarrassing the question was, he was curious to know. He allowed her to think – even if he could guess the answer. He had thought of a family with at least two kids, one boy and a girl, and if possible, a third son. He would be the one to take the dangerous jobs while his wife would take the easier tasks. He would always respect her, protect her and never stop giving them love.

_"Of course I would like to have a family."_ She had answered, smiling. _"I would never stop giving them love and would always give my life for them. I actually would like to have two kids, one girl and a boy, and if possible, a third to give trouble to the older ones."_ She laughed. Natsu's eyes sparkled at that statement because she wanted exactly the same as him. _Lucy wanted the same as him._ He gazed at her for a moment and actually forgot that she kept talking about her dreaming family. But she wanted the same as him… _"What are you staring at?"_ She asked in amusement.

_"Nothing… I was just…"_ He got interrupted by Gray that decided to start a fight in the middle of Lucy family-talking so he made sure to punch him hard because he didn't get to know the rest.

Starting that day, Natsu started to observe Lucy with another eyes. As if studying her, and keeping in mind that he wanted to give love a try, he started to notice new things about her that he didn't notice before.

He had always known how gentle, kind-hearted and comprehensible she was, but not like _this_. Natsu had always been with her, but he never noticed she was the perfect picture of an adult. Simply put, she was the perfect picture of a wife and a mother. He was dumbfounded and astonished at the view. Was this really Lucy? He couldn't stop staring at her.

One day, they had a mission at a nearby town and they noticed there were lots of children around. The kids had come to salute them; most of them grabbed their legs and cheered _"It's Fairy Tail! It's Fairy Tail!"_ and both Natsu and Lucy were amused at their reaction. It was as if those kids were familiar with them. It was as if, Natsu thought, those were _their children_.

Natsu observed as Lucy lowered and sit with her knees on the ground to be at their height. He saw her take her bag from her back and then give them sweets while they thanked and kissed her face. She laughed and Natsu could only think how motherly she looked like that. The kids that were hugging his legs, though, started to ask for sweets; the problem was that he didn't have any. Then Lucy was kind enough to lend him the rest of the lollipops she had and Natsu distributed it. He felt… happy. He had never given a sweet to a kid and received a huge thank you, a smile and a kiss on the cheek. He wasn't even accustomed to that so he blushed slightly at the gentle touch of the kids. So then, he thought, having kids wasn't as bad as it seemed at the beginning. But to have children… he needed to find someone he truly loved first.

He looked at Lucy, who was still smiling at him, and he smiled back. That was the moment Happy appeared purring his tongue saying _"they liiiiiiike each other"_ and they turned for the kids again. It was awkward at that moment.

As time passed, he started to see Lucy differently. The dark and blurred figure of the pictures he had imagined of a wife became clear, showing Lucy with him. It started with a _what if_ and became a definitive picture. He started to imagine Lucy as his wife and he couldn't imagine anyone on her place. So Natsu wished for Lucy to be the wife he was seeking for and decided to confess. He could no longer hold on his feelings towards her and he was actually with high expectations that she would answer his feelings.

"Lucy, I…" He started nervous. He had never been so nervous in his whole life; what was this? He wanted her to answer his feelings but he was also afraid that she couldn't feel the same. "I love you, Luce." And he said it.

He saw her eyes turn big and the blush in her face. Silence fell and he could only hear his heartbeats in his ears.

"Natsu…" she said and then smiled uneasy. He gazed at her, expecting… "We are friends, Natsu…" not this.

Now thanks to that he was feeling hopeless and a total shit. Because he had so many expectations and she didn't feel the same way. _Because they were friends._ The word 'friends' had a weird taste on his tongue – because he wanted something more than a friendship with her. He wanted to be friends and lovers, something she didn't want. It somehow made him feel angry. Not with her, but with the whole situation. Love was a complicated thing; he didn't want this anymore. If only he could throw his heart on the garbage and made the pain disappear; but it wasn't that simple.

Natsu breathed out and shot a little rock out of his way. He was now in direction of the guild because it was boring and lonely at his house – and at least he could have some fresh air on his face. It has been three days since he confessed, but he still wasn't feeling 100% his normal self.

He shouldn't have ever let his heart be fragile to love, to be begin with.

From afar, he could hear his guild friends acting noisy as always. Natsu could hear Cana challenging people to a drinking contest – and it was only 2PM. That girl was always the same. He could hear Alzack and Bisca playing with their daughter Asuka. Natsu wasn't so sure about the rest, but he could swear there was a group of girls reunited somewhere in the guild – he could hear their laughs. Lucy must be in that group, though. Damn, thinking about her hurt and he wasn't even blaming her.

The fire dragon slayer entered the guild in silence, straight face and avoided the girl's group on his left – by the corner of his eyes he noticed Lucy was there; good thing her back was facing him and not her eyes. Even so, he was desperate to sit on a place where he could be facing backing her. Natsu wasn't ready to look at her in his current state, so he thought that maybe avoiding her for some time was the best idea.

"Damn, what a gloomy atmosphere we have here." Gajeel snorted, noticing the fire dragon slayer approaching. Natsu didn't retort. "What the hell happened? You look like shit."

"Change places with me, Elfman." Natsu asked in a low voice, but the take-over man heard him.

"What for? Do you despise my presence now, eh!?" Gajeel shouted, earning the attention of many people. There was indeed a free sit for him near him, but… Woah, Natsu felt like punch his brainless head, but that would be no good for his hand.

"Just… please." Natsu pleaded, looking uneasy.

"This bitch! He's avoiding me!" The metal dragon slayer shouted again, hitting the table in exasperation.

"Idiot, look closer!" Gray said, pointing with his head to his face.

Natsu eventually changed places with Elfman and he could rest. He wasn't going to gaze at Lucy for the next minutes, at least. Good thing. If only those two idiots named Gajeel and Gray weren't looking at him suspiciously.

"What?"

"Are you still depressed because of what happened?" The iron dragon slayer asked with a raised brow. Natsu didn't answer. "Are you serious…" he breathed out, passing one hand through his face. "You better stop with that or I'll hit you." He threatened and Natsu shrugged his shoulders. "I'm being serious." Still, the fire dragon slayer didn't react. "This guy…! I'm going to beat yer ass!"

Gajeel clenched a fist and directed it to Natsu's face, but Gray stopped him.

"Leave him alone; he's still depressed."

Gajeel pouted at the lack of fun. This guy wasn't being funny at all and he actually wanted to kick his ass but he was still depressed over Bunny-Girl so it wouldn't be funny when he wouldn't give any resistance at all.

"Honestly speaking, I never thought she would reject you." Gray said, earning Natsu's attention. "You guys spend your lives together so it's almost common sense that you two will end up together." Natsu was actually hitching to punch him for bringing his hopes up, but then he shrugged the idea. "Why did she reject you?"

"Because we're friends, isn't it obvious?" He knew he had been rude for answering with a growl, but he couldn't feel happy at all with the situation. Love was such a bitch.

"Yeah, it's obvious." Gray didn't seem to mind his mood. "Perhaps she wants to keep the relationship you two currently have. You have to respect her, Natsu."

"Yeah, I know." Natsu shrugged and fixed his gaze on the wooden table. "You know, I actually don't care about this anymore. Love is not for me."

There was a moment of silence; two or three minutes passed while Natsu processed what he had said. Love wasn't for him? Perhaps he was the one acting wrong. Either was him thinking about love wrong or love itself was the problem and didn't want to accept him. It was a weird theory, but he was desperately seeking for answers and he couldn't find any. It was frustrating.

What had he done wrong?

"Are you sure?" Gajeel asked all of a sudden, earning the salmon-haired male attention. "You really like her, don't you?"

He didn't answer immediately. Natsu knew he was being serious at that moment and was making him realize his real feelings for Lucy. Of course he loved Lucy. The doubt was: was it enough to make her happy? Was he the perfect match for her? Perhaps he wasn't, but he loved her to the point that he would stop eating to think about her. Only she was in his mind and he didn't care about the rest.

Natsu truly loved Lucy.

"Look at his face; he really likes her!" Gray snorted and Natsu kicked his leg.

"Man, you're an idiot." Gajeel said, slapping his head. "What are you? What are you doing here, anyway? Go after her, your asshole!" He shouted shoving him away from his seat.

Natsu looked at them dumbfounded while they encouraged him to go after her. Then he looked at the table where she previously was but didn't saw her. Where was she? Had she gone home sooner he arrived? Had she felt uneasy with his presence? That didn't sound right and Natsu didn't want to believe that. She probably had something to do and had to leave. Yes, that was it.

"Oi, don't let it deceive you. Just go!" Gray shouted at him, pushing him towards the guild's door.

He looked at him and then to Elfman and Gajeel, who were shouting for him to go, and he decided to walk away from the guild to search for Lucy. Was he dumb? Was he going to quit fighting for the person he was in love with? He started to run in direction of her house, the only place where she could be. Behind him, everyone started to cheer loudly for him and Lucy.

He rushed through Strawberry Street and arrived quickly at her place. As always, he entered through the window and found her room empty. Natsu heard her at the kitchen. He started to feel nervous again, his hands shaking and sweating but he shrugged that away and walked towards her in hurry steps. When he saw her, he rushed to her and hugged tight.

"N-Natsu!" she said surprised. He noticed she had a cup with juice on her left hand so, before it could spill, he took it away from her hand and put it at the counter. "What…?"

"Luce, I love you! Please, stay by my side!" he said, not letting her go. He didn't know if he was doing it right this time, but he knew one thing: he wasn't going to quit. Natsu loved her more than anything and he wanted her to be his.

"Natsu…" Lucy tried to break free from his grasp but he was too strong. She huffed in defeat. "Can you let me go? It's hard to talk with you like this."

"Sorry." He let her go and saw her catch her breathe. She was blushing again and was avoiding his gaze. If she was going to reject him again… "Lucy, I…"

"Hush." She interrupted, placing a finger on his lips. "Before you tell something more, tell me… tell me why _me_?" she asked, removing her finger from his lips.

"I… You…" How should he put into words what he was feeling? He didn't know how to tell her how much he loved her. So Natsu decided to go straight forward, with no fears. "I-I love everything about you and I want to be with you forever." He said, blushing furiously.

Lucy blushed too and gazed at him astonished for a moment and then she giggled. "Don't take me wrong, it's just that… How did this happen?" she asked, passing a hand through her hair. "I… I can't stop… thinking about you, all the things we have done, and the things that changed. I know you don't have the answer I'm looking for – perhaps not yet – but I want to find it." At this, Natsu was confused. What was she talking about? What had changed? "Natsu, I… I think…"

He realized what she was trying to say. His eyes widen and he took a step forward. _I want to say. I want to say it!_

"Luce, I love you." He said, earning her attention. His instincts were telling him to move forward again; he had this need to feel her close again. "If I say I love you it's because I really do."

"Natsu…" She gazed at him in the eyes and he did the same.

When there was no more space to walk forward to, Natsu stopped and leaned forward. He saw her open her lips and he gulped. He was going to do it. Without breaking gazes, he touched with his nose at the tip of her nose and brushed. Then he locked his lips with hers. It brought so many sensations at the surface of his stomach; he didn't imagine a kiss would feel like this. Her lips were so soft and tasty it made him want more and more. When they break the kiss, he touched her forehead with his own. He noticed the blush in her cheeks and smiled.

"This was unexpected." She whispered with eyes closed.

"What?"

"_This_; _your_ feelings_, my_ feelings… We changed so much."

They smiled. He had to agree that many things changed – he was no longer the childish Natsu from years before. He was now a grown-up Natsu ready to take responsibilities.

She grabbed his face and pushed his face towards her to kiss him. Natsu didn't expect that – or was just feeling numb from the previous events – but he loved every inch of it. He loved the way she touched him and he started to feel too hot as if there was a volcano inside him.

When they parted they were panting.

"I-I love you, Natsu. I really, _really_ love you!"

Natsu was so happy to hear that that he just grabbed her by her waist and pull her closer. This was love and this was definitely what he was searching for.

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**A/N:** I'm smiling like an idiot send help.


End file.
